Rifles are often equipped with a scope in order to facilitate the user in aiming the weapon. This scope is an optical instrument through which the user may see the target and aim the weapon. Often, the rifle scope will include a reticle, which is sometimes referred to as cross-hairs. The user may aim the rifle by looking through the scope and aligning the rifle so that the reticle is directly positioned over the target. By positioning the reticle in this manner, a skilled marksman can shoot the rifle accurately so as to hit the target.
Under some circumstances, users may want to shoot their rifles at night or at a dark object. This may be true for persons in the military or in law enforcement who are involved in night-time operations. In order to use the reticle in these conditions of limited light, the reticle may be illuminated so that the user can see the reticle and align it with the target. When light is added to the reticle, it is possible that some of the light may bleed out of the rifle scope. This may occur by having the light exit the end of the rifle scope and propagate towards the target. If such light does escape the rifle scope, this can increase the likelihood that the user will be detected by surveillance. Thus, in situations in which the user would like to avoid detection, it may be very difficult and risky to use a lighted reticle.